


Our Sugar Maple Tree

by pumpysehun



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:14:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26492494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pumpysehun/pseuds/pumpysehun
Summary: Baekhyun is an optimistic person who people usually see who is always smiling and laughing but little did they know that deep inside him, he is not the happy person they thought him to be.One day, as Baekhyun was just casually sitting at a bench underneath a Sugar Maple Tree, a young man approached him and asked him if he was okay, and from there, Baekhyun couldn't help but to break down and cry his eyes out in front of the young man named Sehun.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Oh Sehun
Kudos: 14





	Our Sugar Maple Tree

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Happy Sebaek Day! ヾ(＾-＾)ノ This is for my loving Sebaekist readers out there! Enjoy ~ :))
> 
> ps. i wasn't able to proof read this so i am truly sorry for any typos, grammatical errors, and nonsense stuff i have typed. and also, im sorry for some parts that doesnt make sense. ive written this one every after work so my brain is already all over the place（>﹏<)

baekhyun is currently alone sitting on a bench underneath a sugar maple tree in front of an apartment building near his house. he is just quietly sitting there pondering about his life not until someone approached him and suddenly asked him a question

"Hello... are you okay?"

baekhyun looked up and saw a young man, probably around his age, staring at him softly with a bit of worry in his expression. the smaller couldn't help but tears started to form in his eyes

it's been a while since someone asked him if he's doing okay. it's been a while since someone actually looked at him with such worry  
his tears started to fall and the young man suddenly became panicked

"Heㅡhey... waㅡwait..." the young man said as he was panicking in front of baekhyun

he then sat next to baekhyun and was a bit hesitant if he's going to hug him or not. after a few seconds of thinking, he just ended up patting him on the back and tried to comfort him

"Itsㅡits alright. Justㅡjust cry it out. I'm here for you."

baekhyun cried harder as he heard those words. someone's here for him. someone's here to comfort him. someone actually finally saw through him that he is not okay and he needs comfort

the young man stared at him with worry and pity. he feels like baekhyun has been keeping his tears for so long, and that the moment he asked him if he was okay he broke down. he just let baekhyun cry his heart out. he just kept quiet and softly rubbed baekhyun at the back to give him a bit of comfort and assurance that he's there with him, and he is not alone anymore

more minutes passed before baekhyun finally cried to his limit. he's taking deep breaths now to calm himself down

the young man grabbed his handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to him

"Here. Use this to wipe your tears."

baekhyun shifted his gaze to him, eyes really red and puffy. he stared at him for a few seconds before looking at the handkerchief and grabbing it

"Thaㅡthank you..." he said as he immediately wiped his tears with the handkerchief

the young man softly smiled at him still rubbing him on the back

"I'mㅡI'm sorry IㅡI suddenly burst into tears. It's just thatㅡit's just that... it has been a while since someone asked me if I'm doing okay." baekhyun explained to the young man

"I figured. It seems like you've been holding those tears for so long now."

baekhyun lightly nodded his head in response

"I'mㅡI'm actually an optimistic and a happy person. You can always see me smiling even if deep inside I am not happy. That's why no one really bothered to ask if I am still doing okay." the smaller again explained

the young man felt much more worried about baekhyun. he knows what baekhyun is going through since he has gone through it as well

"Hey, if you're feeling down or even feeling shit just come here underneath this sugar maple tree and I promise you, I'll be here to comfort you."

baekhyun looked at the young man surprised but with a bit of appreciation in his eyes

"Youㅡyou really don'tㅡ"

"Just come here whenever you feel sad or when you feel you don't want to be alone okay? I promise you, I'll be here." the young man said with the sweetest smile he could show

baekhyun slowly smiled a little at him, really appreciating the stranger's offer

"Thank you. By the way, I'm Baekhyun but you can call me Hyunie. What's your name?"

baekhyun was caught off guard when the young man suddenly let out a soft laugh. the young man's eyes turned into a crescent moon shape as he laughed, and baekhyun found it really cute

"Sorry. It's just that we somewhat have a similar nickname. My name is Sehun and my nickname is Hunie."

baekhyun then let out a soft laugh when he heard the young man's nickname

"Ohh... our nicknames do sound a like."

sehun nodded still smiling ear to ear

baekhyun stared at him with such adoration in his eyes. he really finds this young man in front of him really cute when he is smiling most especially when he is laughing

they just continued talking there more and baekhyun also shared to sehun why he was down. sehun just let him open up to him and even gave him a bit of advice which baekhyun really appreciated. they were having such a great time that they didn't notice that it was already almost sunset

baekhyun looked at his watch and it was past 5pm, and he has to go home now. he looked at sehun, eyes a bit sad because he needs to leave

"Ahh... Hunie... I have to go now." baekhyun softly and sadly said

sehun showed him a small smile as he nodded his head

"It's alright. But are you okay now?"

baekhyun widely smiled at him as he happily nodded his head

"I am! Thank you, Hunie! Thank you for listening and for comforting me. I never really thought that a stranger will make me feel a bit better."

sehun softly chuckled as he sweetly smiled at baekhyun

"Like what they said it's really better to open up to a stranger than your friends. Anyway, it's nice meeting you, Hyunie. Be careful on your way home."

baekhyun smiled at him and once again thanked him. he then started to leave, and as he was walking, he saw an elderly woman staring at him softly. he felt a bit shy 'cause probably the elder woman saw him crying badly a while ago. he shyly smiled at her then he immediately walked faster to get home sooner

he got back to their house around quarter to 6pm. he was removing his shoes when his younger cousin, kyungsoo, suddenly came out from the kitchen and called him

"Hyunie! Finally, you're home!" kyungsoo shouted as he walked up to baekhyun

baekhyun smiled at him and started to wear his indoor slippers

"Kyungie... you're here. I thought you'll be back next week?"

"Yeah, but I had some things to finish here for work so I went back earlier. Anyway, you're just in time. I already cooked dinner. Come, let's eat. Auntie and uncle went out by the way. They said they'll be back a bit late."

baekhyun just nodded his head and started to walk to the dinning area. the table was already set so he just sat on one of the chairs. kyungsoo grabbed the bowls on the kitchen counter and placed them on the table as he sat down in front of baekhyun

"Where have you been by the way? Auntie said you've been out since noon." kyungsoo asked as he placed some rice on baekhyun's plate

"Ahh... yeah... I was just at the bench under the sugar maple tree in front of that apartment building where we used to play when we were kids. I just wanted to get some fresh air." baekhyun answered and started to get some of the orange chicken kyungsoo cooked

"For that long? You just sat at the bench there for more than five hours?"

baekhyun chuckled softly and shook his head a little

"Well, not really, someone suddenly approached me and unexpectedly, we had a fun talk that we both didn't notice it was already almost sunset."

"Hmm... I see. Who's the person?"

"He said his name is Sehun but his nickname is Hunie. Funny that we have a similar sounding nickname." baekhyun let out a soft laugh as he started eating

kyungsoo, on the other hand, suddenly looked up a bit, forehead scrunched and started thinking which baekhyun immediately noticed

"Why? Something wrong, Kyungie?" baekhyun curiously asked

"Hmm... nothing... it's just that I think I've heard that nickname before I just couldn't remember where."

"Really?"

"I guess or maybe I was just remembering yours. Well, anyway, let's eat."

baekhyun let out a sigh and just shrug his shoulders and started eating. he really felt better after talking and opening up to sehun a while ago. he's really thankful that the taller approached him without any second thoughts. he's really happy that he met him

days passed by and baekhyun haven't gotten back to the sugar maple tree since he got busier with work and also kyungsoo was with him at home so he couldn't really leave. he wasn't also feeling that down lately probably because he's distracted with work. not until a few days later, when kyungsoo went back to their province, baekhyun started to once again feel the heavy feeling because his parents started fighting again. yes, he always feels down because of his parents bickering every day and every night the time when kyungsoo wasn't around. whenever he gets home, he'd see broken vases scattered on the floor while his mom cries at a corner and his dad is nowhere in sight anymore

since the day they moved here again in the city, it was around three years ago, his parents started to fight more. it started with just simply shouting and cursing at each other but as the days went by it got more and more intense. his dad started hitting his mom while his mom started throwing stuff at his dad. it was really chaotic that it affected baekhyun deeply. they used to be a happy family. he doesn't know what really happened between his parents since none of them told him anything and he didn't bother asking them as well. every time his parents are fighting and he's at home, he'd just stay in his room and cover his ears like a kid not wanting to hear the chaos happening around him

and right now, he just got back from work and he could already hear his parents fighting from outside their house. baekhyun let out a sigh and started to walk away from their house and went straight to the sugar maple tree. as he got there, no one was in sight. he took a deep breath and hoped that sehun would come later. he started to walk to the tree and sat down on the bench. he looked up to the tree, and the leaves of the sugar maple tree are falling one by one

'fall is coming soon.' he thought as he stared at the falling leaves of the tree

he slowly smiled a bit because he feels comfort whenever he is here underneath the sugar maple tree. it feels like the tree is giving him so much comfort and warmth, like it was hugging him

"Hyunie... you're here again..."

baekhyun immediately shifted his gaze as he heard sehun's voice. he smiled as soon as he saw him

"Hunie!" he happily said

sehun was staring at him a bit concerned which is why the smile on baekhyun's face slowly faded away. just basing on the taller's eyes, baekhyun could tell that sehun already knows what happened to him. he took a deep breath and once again looked up to the falling leaves of the sugar maple tree. sehun softly stared at him as he walked up to him and sat next to him

"Did they fight again?"

baekhyun nodded his head

"They started fighting again when my cousin went back to the province." baekhyun said with a sigh

"I see... so that's why you haven't gotten back here."

baekhyun looked at him again, eyes wondering if the taller was waiting for him to get back here

"Where you waiting for me to come back?" he curiously asked

sehun let out a soft laugh and shifted his gaze to the falling leaves of the tree

"Hmm... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't but I was actually glad you didn't come back for days because it means that you weren't sad or having a difficult time again." sehun answered

baekhyun felt really warm and at the same time touched as to what the taller told him

"Anyway, have you talked to them?"

baekhyun looked down and lightly shook his head

"No... I just can't... IㅡI don't want to know more about why they are fighting."

sehun nodded his head and let out a deep sigh

"I understand. If you'll know more the scar will get deeper and as it gets deeper you won't be able to handle it anymore."

baekhyun immediately looked at sehun again, the taller is just staring at the falling leaves, no expression detected on his face, but his eyes shows a lot. he wondered if sehun had the same experience as him. he wanted to ask but he's afraid that he might trigger something

"Anyway, you can always just cry it out whenever it gets too heavy. Crying is still good for the soul, you know. And also, I'll always be here with you when you cry. I won't leave until you feel a little better."

at that moment baekhyun wanted to cry not because of feeling sad and depressed but because of how sehun is showing him that he has him, that he has someone to cry on whenever he is feeling heavy inside. baekhyun's tears started to fall so he immediately grabbed his handkerchief from his pocket a wiped his tears. sehun then shifted his gaze to him and smiled a little as soon as he saw baekhyun is still using the handkerchief he gave him

"Are those tears of sadness or the other kind of tears?"

baekhyun softly chuckled as he was still crying and wiping his tears

"I don't know what you meant with the last one but I guess it's definitely that one."

sehun softly smiled at him and started to carefully rub his back

"Sorry for making your tears fall."

"No... I like this kind of tears. It feels warm."

"Really?" sehun chuckingly asked and baekhyun smilingly nodded

after baekhyun was done wiping his tears, they just sat there quietly and watched the falling leaves of the sugar maple tree

"Do you always come here, Hunie?" baekhyun suddenly asked

"Hmm... well, I live in this apartment so..."

baekhyun looked at sehun, eyes wide

"Wait, really? I thought you live at a house near here as well."

sehun softly laughed and looked at him

"Yes. I've been living here since I was really young."

"Ohh... I see..."

the taller nodded his head and sat up properly as he took a breath

"Although, I barely go outside. It was just lately that I get out of the house to get some fresh air."

"Hmm... I see... actually, the same goes with me. We moved here again three years ago, but the day you saw me here was the first time I went out of the house to get some fresh air. I was really feeling suffocated that day that's why I couldn't take it anymore."

"I could tell too. How about now? Are you still feeling suffocated?"

baekhyun looked up at the sky and thought about it. he doesn't feel heavy unlike before. he still feels sad but not as sad as before

"I guess not. I think I'm getting used to it."

sehun looked at him and stared at him softly

"Hyunie..."

baekhyun looked at him and showed a small smile

"Yeah?"

"Don't let yourself get used to it."

baekhyun stared at him wondering what he meant by that. he wanted to ask but as he stared deeply into sehun's eyes he could feel that the taller is trying to tell him that it won't end up good if he just let himself get used to his parents' fighting. baekhyun let out a sigh and once again shifted his gaze to the falling leaves

"I'll try, but I don't know what to do, honestly."

sehun let out a sigh and looked at the falling leaves again

"Try to talk to your dad. That's the only way you can do it."

"But he usually isn't at home. Mom's the only one who's always at home."

"Hmm... I see. Then try to message him. Tell him you want to talk to him."

"Can't I just talk to my mom?"

sehun let out a sigh as he lightly shook his head

"Between your mom and dad, your dad can handle his emotions better when he tells you what's going on."

baekhyun nodded in agreement. his mom can't really handle her emotions well that's why he also pretends that he doesn't know about the fights in front of his mom. he adjusted his sit and let out a deep sigh

"I'll try to message dad later. For now, I want to breath first."

sehun smiled a bit as he lightly nodded his head. they just had a casual conversation after that. it was just baekhyun asking sehun random things to divert his thoughts and to also get to know the taller more. like before, they had fun with their conversation that they didn't notice it was already past 8pm. baekhyun didn't want to go home yet but sehun told him it was already late so he better get home soon. sehun even offered to walk with him home since it's already late but baekhyun refused and insisted that he can go home alone safely

baekhyun then immediately started to walk and motioned his hands to sehun to stay where he is sitting. sehun let out a laugh and nodded his head as he also moved his hand telling baekhyun to go. the smaller smiled before he turned around and started to run a bit. as baekhyun was running, he again saw the elderly lady looking at him softly. this time, he's wondering why the elderly lady is still looking at him like that. he didn't even cry badly this time. baekhyun let out a sigh and just continued to run

when baekhyun reached home, he saw his dad going out of their house. he stopped midway of walking and his dad immediately felt his presence which is why he turned his gaze to baekhyun

"Ohh... you're home. It's already late. Did you have an overtime at work?"

it took a while before baekhyun could even response. he lightly nodded his head so his dad wouldn't ask anymore further questions

"I see... you should get inside and take some rest."

his dad was about to ride the car so baekhyun unconsciously stopped him

"Dad! Wait!"

his dad stopped halfway opening the car door to look at him

"Hmm? Something wrong, son?"

baekhyun pursed his lips as he slowly took a deep breath

"IㅡI want to talk to you, dad. Canㅡcan we talk...? Please?"

his dad stared at him for a few seconds before his dad let out a sigh and closed the car door

"I knew this day will come." his dad said with a sigh. "Come. Let's have a walk."

his dad started to walk and baekhyun took some time before he followed his dad

they ended up going to a nearby playground. they sat down at a swing set and it took a while before one of them spoke

"So, what did you want to talk about, son?" his dad asked, eyes staring at the night sky

baekhyun took a deep breath and tried to get some strength to ask what he really wanted to ask his dad

"Dad..." he began. "What'sㅡwhat's happening between you andㅡand mom?" he continued with a soft voice

his dad let out a sigh and shifted his gaze at the ground

"I knew it." his dad whispered which made baekhyun look at him

"Before I tell you, son, I'm really sorry for what's happening between me and your mom. We knew you are aware of the fights and you just didn't want to ask us on what's really happening."

baekhyun softly stared at his dad. he could feel any time now his tears would start to fall. his dad took a deep breath and once again, shifted his gaze at the sky

"Your mom and I aren't in good terms anymore. There's no third party, don't worry. It's just that we really didn't get along from the very beginning. We just got married because I got your mom pregnant. And now, since you're already an adult, it's about time for us to get annulled."

when baekhyun heard this his tears immediately fell from his eyes. he shook his head and tried to utter a word but his voice started to crack

"Noㅡno... daㅡdad... noㅡno..."

his dad looked at him with soft stares and a small smile

“I’m really sorry son that you have to go through this. Believe me your mom and I both tried to get along but we just really couldn’t especially now that we are getting old. I hope you understand, son. Your mom has been asking for us to get annulled.”

baekhyun closed his eyes tight and immediately shook his head

“IㅡI can’t accept this... no... I don’t want us to have a broken family... no... please...”

his dad tears started to fall as he felt really sorry for his son. he doesnt want to hurt him but this is the only way so he and his wife wouldnt hurt each other more

his dad stood up and walked to. he scrunched down in front of baekhyun and softly held him on his cheeks

“Baekhyun, son, I’m truly sorry for this. Please understand that your mom and I will just hurt each other more if we don’t get annulled.”

baekhyun just stared at him tears streaming hard from his eyes. his dad carefully hugged him and tapped him on the back

“Your mom and I might get annulled but that doesn’t mean we’ll stop being your parents, okay? I’ll still be your dad and she’ll still be your mom.”

“Butㅡbut... it still means we’ll be a broㅡbroken family now...”

his dad let out a sigh and softly pushed him back to look at him in the eyes

“I know you don’t deserve a broken family son but you also don’t deserve seeing or hearing us fighting and hurting each other everyday. This is the only way for the fights to stop, Baekhyun.”

baekhyun understands what his dad meant but he just couldnt accept the fact that his parents can no longer fix their relationship for him

baekhyun looked down and closed his eyes and just let his tears flow rapidly

“IㅡI understand, dad... butㅡbut please give me some time to accept everything... give me sometime to let this sink in to me.”

his dad pursed his lips and nodded his head

“I understand. Your mom and I will talk about it probably in the coming weeks. We’ll let you know once we have settled a date to file the annulment papers.”

baekhyun just nodded his head as he placed his hand on his mouth to stop himself from sobbing loudly

his dad softly caressed him on his arms and stared at him with apologetic eyes before he stood up and let out a breath

“I’ll go ahead now, Baekhyun. You get home once you are all calm, okay?”

baekhyun just nodded again still not looking at his dad. his dad let out a soft sigh and started to leave

when his dad left, he started to cry harder and loudly. he doesnt care if anyone sees or hears him. he just really want to cry his disappointment, his sadness, and his pain out

a few minutes passed when baekhyun felt someone carefully caressed him on the back. he immediately opened his eyes and looked up

there he saw sehun standing in front of him, eyes softly staring at him and has a small smile on his face

without any second thoughts, baekhyun stood up and immediately hugged sehun which really surprised the taller. he hugged him really tight as he buried his face on his chest and cried as if he was a kid who got separated from his parents in a mall

sehun slowly let out a sigh as he shyly patted baekhyun on the back

“Just cry it out, Hyunie. Just cry it out.”

baekhyun just really did cry his eyes out there. sehun just stood still and lightly patted baekhyun on the back to comfort him. about five minutes passed before baekhyun broke the hug and tried to stop himself from sobbing

he grabbed his handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the tears on his eyes and cheeks. sehun was just softly staring at him while he waits for him to settle down

after wiping his tears, baekhyun slowly took a deep breath and started to speak

“Thaㅡthank you, Hunie... IㅡI didn’t expect you’d be here at this hour.”

sehun smiled a bit as he took a breath

“I actually followed you on your way to your house. I just really wanted to make sure you’ll get home safe.”

baekhyun looked at him a bit surprised but then he felt glad that sehun did that since because of it he is here with him, and he really needs him now

“I’m glad you followed me, Hunie.” baekhyun said as he tried to show a small smile

“I’m glad I did too.” sehun answered as he softly smiled at him

the taller let out a deep sigh and carefully held baekhyun on his back

“Let’s go. Let’s get you home so you could rest.”

baekhyun nodded his head and started to walk. he actually is really tired now. he feels weak and he wants to get some rest.

they were just quiet while they were taking the path back to his house. baekhyun was tired already and sehun could see that which is why the taller didnt bother to talk anymore

as they got near to baekhyun’s house, the smaller once again thanked sehun for comforting him and for walking with him to his house. sehun just smiled at him and told him to get inside and he’ll leave once he got in. baekhyun just did what he was told to since he really doesnt have the energy anymore

as soon as baekhyun got inside, sehun then started to leave.

as the days passed by, baekhyun always come to the sugar maple tree and sehun is always right there with him. most of the time, they’ll just talk about random stuff so baekhyun could divert his thoughts and somewhat escape from his reality for some time

whenever he is with sehun, he could really feel so much comfort and that as if he forgets his problems. sehun became his escape from the harsh world he is in. sehun became his strength and his support whenever he is feeling at his lowest

two week has passed and baekhyun’s parents already talked to him about the annulment. the trial will start in the next coming month. he didnt say anything to his parents and just nodded his head as they were explaining things to him

after having a talk with them, he immediately went out of the house and came running to the sugar maple tree. as he got there, he looked around to look for sehun if he was near the area

“Excuse me, dear.”

baekhyun got a bit startled when someone suddenly spoke behind him. he turned around and saw the elderly woman who always look at him softly whenever he’s on his way home from talking with sehun

“Yeㅡyes?”

the elderly woman softly smiled at him

“You are looking for him aren’t you?”

baekhyun was a bit surprised but he just nodded his head

“I see... he’s gone now, dear.”

baekhyun’s eyes widen from what he heard

“Whaㅡwhat do you mean heㅡhe’s goㅡgone?”

the elderly woman stared at him more softly

“I didn’t want to tell you but dear that young man you were always talking too is just a soul. It’s his soul.”

baekhyun’s forehead slowly scrunched as he stared at the elderly woman confused and lost

“Whaㅡwhat? Hisㅡhis soul? Youㅡyou must be joking... that’sㅡthat’s impossible. He could touch me and I was able to hug him back then as well!”

the elderly woman lightly nodded her head and sighed

“I know, dear. Lost souls are given that chance. They have the chance to touch and be touched by humans.”

baekhyun couldnt believe what he is hearing. he is so lost right now

“I know it’s hard to believe dear but that young man you were talking to harmed himself months ago underneath that sugar maple tree. He was found lifeless on that bench.”

baekhyun didnt know what to say nor what to react. if it was really sehun’s soul, how come he could see him? and how come the elderly woman could see him as well?

“But I canㅡ”

before baekhyun could even finish speaking the elderly woman cut him off

“You could see him because he wants to make you see him. I could only see him because I could really see souls, dear.”

baekhyun is really speechless right now. this things the elderly woman is saying are just really hard to believe and ridiculous

the elderly woman let out a sigh and softly smiled at him

“I understand if you don’t want to believe me since it really is hard to believe but if you dig a whole just in front of the sugar maple tree you’ll see a box buried there, and with that I’m sure you’ll believe what I’m saying.”

and with that the elderly woman turned around and was about to start walking but baekhyun stopped him

“Waㅡwaitㅡ”

she once again turned to him and smiled softly

“If you are going to ask if is he really gone that I am not sure. He could be gone but he could also be just in a comma and his soul was just really lost.”

baekhyun looked down as he thought about what the elderly woman just said

“You know dear, it could still be the latter.”

baekhyun looked at her again and showed her a small smile. the elderly woman smiled at him as well and then she went back inside the apartment building

baekhyun took a deep breath before he walked up in front of the sugar maple tree and started to dig the soil with his bare hands since the soil is soft and loose. not long enough, he was able to see a box there. he immediately grabbed it and dust off the dirt on the box

he stared at the box and observed it. it was just a plain cardboard box. nothing was written on it. baekhyun took a deep breath and he was having second thoughts on opening the box but his curiosity was eating him so he ended up opening the box, and as soon as he opened it, his tears started to fall

three months passed by and baekhyun tried to look for sehun but he couldnt find him. he wanted to believe that maybe, just maybe, sehun is in a hospital bed still trying to survive. he wants to believe that he is still alive

baekhyun is now walking with kyungsoo to go to the sugar maple tree. he’s going to bury the box that he got there before he leaves to go back to the province together with kyungsoo. baekhyun decided to stay in their province for the meantime since he wants to get away from all the stress he has here in the city

as they were walking, baekhyun saw a man standing in front of the sugar maple tree. he stopped walking and stared at that man, eyes getting wet and heartbeat beating faster

kyungsoo turned to look at him curious as to why he suddenly stopped walking

“Hyunie? You okay?”

baekhyun took a step forward a bit doubting to what he is seeing

“Kyuㅡkyungie... youㅡyou can see him too... riㅡright?”

kyungsoo shifted his gaze to where baekhyun is looking

“That tall man? Yeah. I can see him. Hey, Hyunie, are you still okay? Do you know that man?”

baekhyun didnt respond anymore and immediately run towards the man who was standing still staring at the sugar maple tree. he stopped running when he had enough distance and started to walk slowly to the man

“Huㅡhunie...” baekhyun softly called and the man turned his gaze to his direction

baekhyun’s tears started to fall as he saw the man’s face. it’s really him! it’s really sehun!

he quickly walked straight to sehun and hugged him as tight as he could

~

kyungsoo is a bit confused on what’s going on since his cousin didn’t really tell him much about what was going on in his life

he was about to walk towards them when someone from behind called him by his nickname

“Kyungie?”

kyungsoo turned around and there he saw a really tall man wearing a beanie, a long sleeves white tshirt, and denim pants. the tall man widely smiled at him as he abruptly walked towards him and suddenly hugged him

“It is you, Kyungie! It’s been so long! I really miss you, Kyungie! I’m so glad I finally saw you again after how many years!”

kyungsoo is really confused to what is happening. he cant really remember this man who is hugging him right now

the man then broke the hug and stared at kyungsoo’s face with such delight in his eyes

“Since when did you came back here, Kyungie? I’m so happy that you still remember this place.”

kyungsoo is much more lost now. he doesnt get what this man is telling him

“I’mㅡI’m sorry but what? Sorry but who are you?”

the man wrinkled his forehead and pouted his lips a bit

“You can’t remember me Kyungie? It’s me, Chanyeol... Yeolie. We used to play here when we were kids together with Hunie and Hyunie. Can’t you remember?”

and with that, a light bulb suddenly lit in kyungsoo’s mind

~

baekhyun broke the hug and softly held sehun on the cheeks

“You’re alive... you’re alive, Hunie... I’m so happy that you’re alive...”

sehun is just staring at him as if the taller was observing him

“Huㅡhunie... it’s me... it’sㅡ”

“Hyunie...”

baekhyun couldnt help but to widely smile and happily nodded his head when sehun said his name

“Yes! Yes! You remember me! I’m so happy that you remember me, Hunie!”

sehun sweetly smiled at him as he stared at him softly

“Of course. How can I forget my childhood crush.”

baekhyun was taken a back from what sehun said. he slowly let go of sehun’s cheeks and stared at him confused

“Chiㅡchildhood crush?”

sehun smiled at him as if the taller already expected this

“I see. So, you still can’t remember.”

sehun’s gaze shifted to the box baekhyun is holding

“You found the box.”

baekhyun then suddenly looked at the box and nodded his head

“Yeㅡyeah... I’mㅡI’m sorry Iㅡ”

sehun shook his head still smiling at him

“No, I’m glad you found it. I actually left it here hoping for you to find it.”

“Whyㅡwhy me?”

“You really can’t remember huh?”

baekhyun stared at him still lost and confused. sehun grabbed the box from him and opened it. he stared at the contents with bitterness yet he doesnt feel bitter at all

“This box contains all my pain from when my parents got annulled. I even left a letter here saying goodbye to the world because after burying this I tried to take my own life but Yeolie found me not long enough.”

sehun let out a sigh and looked at baekhyun again

“When we were kids, we both always find each other here underneath this sugar maple tree. We both felt comfort and warm whenever we are here near this tree. We also knew that time that we were going through the same thing with our parents. That’s why after that, we would always meet up here every afternoon and played to escape from reality.”

baekhyun’s tears started to fall. he could clearly remember that. he just didnt remember that it was sehun who was that kid in his childhood who he used to play with by the sugar maple tree

“You remember now?” sehun asked with a small smile

baekhyun nodded his head as he looked down and tried to wipe his tears

“I’mㅡI’m soㅡsorry IㅡI wasn’t able toㅡto remember immediately.”

sehun softly smiled and stared at him. he carefully held baekhyun on the cheeks and lifted his head to look him in the eyes

“Hey... it’s fine. I really can’t blame you with that. What’s important now is that you remember it.”

baekhyun slowly showed a smile to sehun and the taller then wiped his tears from his cheeks

“Where were you, Hunie? I’ve been looking everywhere for you from the past months but I couldn’t find you.”

sehun pursed his lips as he let go of baekhyun’s cheeks

“The moment I woke up from comma, my parents transferred me to the states to be fully checked. I just got back yesterday. I’m sorry it took me a while.”

baekhyun lightly shook his head and softly stared at him

“No... you were just in time. I’m glad I was able to see you before I leave.”

sehun suddenly got alarmed when he heard the last words baekhyun said

“Beㅡbefore youㅡyou leave?”

baekhyun felt a bit sad from sehun’s tone. he doesnt want to leave know since sehun’s back but he already told his grandparents in the province that he’ll be coming home now

“Yeㅡyes. IㅡI’m going back to the province but I’ll be coming back here again since I still work here in the city. I’ll be staying there for a month or so. I promise I’ll come back.”

sehun weakly smiled at him

“Promise?”

baekhyun eagerly nodded his head

“I promise. Let’s meet again here underneath our sugar maple tree, Hunie.”

sehun’s weak smile turned into a hopeful one

“Okay. Let’s meet again here underneath our sugar maple tree, Hyunie.”

-END-

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! <3 Again, Happy Sebaek Day, everyone! ღゝ◡╹)ノ♡


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